Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero (NSW) Review

The latest Shantae game has made its way to the Nintendo Switch after becoming available several months ago on other platforms.  While I didn't get to review that release, I was very happy to review this one.  Mostly because, after Shovel Knight, I learned the Switch was a good platform for this type of game, and Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero shows why.

I mostly used the 4-button d-pad on the Joycon, and for 2D movement, it worked great.  Shantae's normal moves felt controlled and precise.  I really like the Switch's 4-button d-pad, even though I didn't think I would.  Jumping and attacking was also very responsive.  The only parts where I found the analog stick was better was while swimming in the mermaid form.  Especially the start of the last stage.

The concept and game flow is fairly similar to before.  You have to go to various places and collect something or other to advance the plot.  The areas felt smaller than in previous games, and it also felt like there was less to explore.  Most areas allow you to save after and before moving on to the next, which is nice.  If you fall down a pit, you are sent back to the last of those, or the last door you went in.  This made some parts a pain to do, especially the auto scrolling bits.  They made sense in context, but I still don't like those parts in games.  Didn't back in the day, and that hasn't changed.  I will say this excludes the shmup section, since I love that genre.

Platforming difficulty seems more balanced than the previous game.  Yes, there are some tough bits, but the hard one near the end isn't nearly as bad as the one at the end of Pirate's Curse.  Also the boss fights got easier.  Maybe it's the multitude of healing items, but I didn't use them often.  Before you had to learn their patterns, and now it is much easier to just power through them.  Yes, that will turn some people off, but I appreciate it because I can play and enjoy the game, but see areas to improve if I want to invest the time.

The beginning of 1/2 Genie Hero is harder than previous games, mostly because of the low starting health.  If you get a game over, it sends you back a bit, but doesn't refill health, making it harder to progress sometimes.  Bosses don't drop health increases like they used to, so you have to find them in the wild.  I was struggling through the first and second dungeon, but once I increased my max health, I didn't run into trouble dying (but I still fell into pits).

My problem with the game flow is how much they send you back to previous areas.  In most games in the genre, you return with more abilities to get an item or two, but a lot of the secrets and items are left up to your discretion.  Not so in 1/2 Genie Hero.  They are helpful in hinting at where you need to go.  Even so, I want to return to previous areas because I want to get items, less so because the game requires me to.  It's not a deal breaker, but it's not a choice I prefer.  It's probably to pad the game time, since it took me just over 7 hours to beat the game with 94% of the items.  That was after wasting chunks of time looking for things I couldn't find.  At least I know what areas I needed, since the map is great about showing what is available to find.

Shantae gets a lot more dances than she's ever had before, some much more useful than others.  The bat transformation and the warp dance are much more valuable than they initially appear to be.  There's also a harpy one that lets you fly.  It sadly controls terribly, which makes a part near the end a huge pain to deal with.  As for upgrades and spells, Shantae has her usual assortment.  Yay, pike ball!  Thankfully money is much easier and consistent to come by than previous entries, so the upgrades felt much more evenly spaced.

Overall, I really liked Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero.  It has some improvements over the previous games, even if I think it forces you back to the same area too many times.  While it's only about 7 hours for the first playthrough, it's appropriate for the genre and price, and there is an unlockable mode if you are so inclined.  Plus, the art and animation are still top-notch and beautiful.  Action/platformer fans should definitely check it out.


The Good:
Very fluid and precise controls on the Switch.  Looks great, too.

The Bad:
Forced, multiple retreads of areas.

The SaHD:
The Grandma Blobfish and the palette swap lines were very funny.

(Review code for Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero was provided by the publisher)

Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (Xbox One) Review

Before we get started on my Shantae and the Pirate's Curse review, I want to state that as someone with a degree in art, I really like certain looks to games.  If you don't want to hear me gush about the visuals in this game, skip past the next paragraph.

Still here?  Ok.  Wow, I just love the visuals here.  The character portraits are awesome looking, and not just for the scantily clad girls.  They are really detailed and super smooth.  The in-game models are really nice sprite art, and the animations are great as well.  One thing I've noticed with WayForward is the amazing animations they put into games.  The music is also really, really good.  Shantae even speaks a select few lines, which is pretty cool.  It's mostly character's names, but it does add to the game.  I don't think I'd want every line spoken, so this is a good middle ground.

Shantae also controls really well, provided you are using the d-pad.  I tried using the analog stick, but it didn't feel nearly as good or as precise as the d-pad.  It also felt more precise than Risky's Revenge did, but I'm not sure if there was some backend change, or just the different controller did something.  Shantae's different moves are mapped out pretty well on the controller, which allows you to use her various power-ups.  The only minor issue I had was when opening the map/item screen you had to back out by hitting the button again instead of the B Button for canceling.  Oh, and I'd love to turn off the vibration feature.  Maybe in an update or future title?

Pirate's Curse is fun, but there were several parts of the game that were difficult.  As you progress, enemies hit harder and harder, and you need to get a lot of the health upgrades to just stay afloat.  I'd prefer it if it wasn't so strict, but I think it's mostly appealing to the "loves hard games" crowd.  Or they want to encourage you to learn all the patterns and just "don't get hit" (thanks, Tyler).  The boss fights were challenging the first few times, but end up being not that bad after you figure them out.  Except for Dagron...I hate that fight.  It's oddly harder than the final boss!

I think the platforming is actually harder than the bosses.  There are many parts where you have to move quickly and precisely, avoiding enemies and trying to skillfully land on small platforms.  Many of these sections become easier once you have the pirate upgrades.  However, the final dungeon is really hard.  Yes, as the final dungeon it should be harder, but they want such precision just to get through it that I found it very frustrating.  They are long rooms that you have to do in one go, and you need to expertly use each travel method.  If you are persistent, you will eventually get through it, but it can lose all fun really fast.

Silly or not, I love the design of the skull bra.

If you have played the previous game, or most other metroidvania-type games, the map layout should look familiar.  However, this game is broken into several smaller maps, for each island, area and dungeon, instead of one giant map.  A few places of interest are marked on the map, but not items.  Yes, there would be some purists that don't want any hints, but there are those of us that can't memorize the whole map and would like a reminder.  The map works well, but I would really like a way to scroll through the different maps of a given island.  As it stands, you can only see the map of the current area, and some maps are broken into much small pieces that aren't always so helpful.  Not really a deal breaker, but a nice thing that I hope makes it into a sequel.

Thankfully, Pirate's Curse is longer than Risky's Revenge.  The game took me around 9 hours to get 100% in my first run.  The game is also meant to be speed run, as there is even an achievement for it.  Beating the game once unlocks "pirate mode", where you start with all the pirate power-ups.  Besides being really cool and fun, this makes speed running much easier.  Heck, I might even try, and I don't even like doing speed runs.  There are also multiple achievements in the game that are hard, like one per boss by beating them without getting hit.  I can see this for a few of them, but not Dagron.  I really, really...really dislike fighting him (if you couldn't tell from earlier).  It was hard enough for me to beat him, let alone not getting hit.  Ugh, bad memories there.  Anyway, as a nice reward for getting the achievements, each one is a picture of a character in the game.  So if you love the artwork in the game like I do, it makes for some great pictures to use as your background!

Even though there are frustrating parts, I liked playing Shantae and the Pirate's Curse.  The controls are tight and responsive, and it plays really well.  The music and art are my favorite part of the whole thing.  It's longer than the previous game, and an easy recommendation to any metroidvania fans.  The unlockable mode, speedrun possibilities and achievement art gives some good reasons to go through it multiple times.  An overall solid title that is worth playing.

(Review code for Shantae and the Pirate's Curse was provided by the publisher.)

Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut (PS4) Review

Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut, besides being a long and kind of silly title, is an enhanced port of the DS title from a few years ago.  It stars Shantae, the half-genie hero, as she fights to reclaim a magical lamp from her nemesis, Risky the pirate (who is busty like all of the ladies in the game).  The game plays surprisingly well on the home console, with the only inconvenience being the map.  Without the second screen, you have to access the menu, then move the cursor to the "map" selection and use it.  It would be nice if there was a way to access it directly, like maybe using the other side of the touch pad, just as Diablo III: UEE did.

The first thing you will likely notice with the game is the graphics.  It is some nice sprite artwork, with the trademark amazing animations of WayForward.  However, it is still clearly an upscaled version of a portable game.  This isn't too big of an issue for me, but after seeing what they did with Mighty Switch Force: Hyper Edition, I would have loved for Shantae to get the same treatment.  Although, the bust shots during dialogue look great!

The game is basically a metroidvania action adventure game.  You run around, jump to different platforms and attack enemies... with your hair.  The controls are tight, which is necessary for a game like this.  You also have a few different magic spells that you can buy and use, but you can only equip one at a time.  I didn't switch them often, so this isn't as limited as it sounds.  Shantae can also learn magical transformations that she can access from dancing.  Yeah, the genie theme extends to belly dancing magic.  It is fitting, though.

The three forms each allow for a different ability.  The monkey allows you to climb some walls, the elephant can charge to open up a few caves, and the mermaid allows you to swim underwater.  Standard, but if it's not broken, it doesn't need fixing.  One of the most unique things about a few areas is how there are multiple 2D planes linked together in the fore or background.  There are special panels that allow you to jump into the plane in one of the two directions.  In an awesome touch, you can see the ones in the background, and they are slightly clouded, so you don't get confused.  It works well and looks really cool.

Unfortunately, as fun as the game is, it is a bit on the short side.  My run through the game was just under 4.5 hours, and an hour more to grab the items I was missing (it took me 6 hours total for the DS version, for comparison's sake).  Difficulty is pretty good though, as the fights can be tough, but not overly so.  Shantae's hitbox feels a bit big, but so does her attack range, so it almost evens out.  It still makes a few enemies a pain though.  Platforming in the game is more unforgiving than the fights.  There are many sections that require you to be very precise, and it can get a little frustrating.  It isn't throw your controller hard, but there might be some swearing.

While the game is short, there are a few endings depending on how much stuff you found and how long it took, which gives the game some replay value.  Granted, I don't do speed runs, so I won't get those endings, but I am more than happy to find all the items.  There's also the new mode added where Shantae has more magic power, but she takes more damage.  The best part about that mode is the costume change... her outfit is very similar to an infamous Return of the Jedi costume.  The trophy list isn't too complicated, but there is one hard trophy that requires you to beat the game without grabbing any life extenders.  Yikes!  Completion here will be for the dedicated and skilled only.

Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut is a fun game.  It is a very good action/adventure metroidvania game with solid controls.  The only real negative about the game is the length.  It kept me wanting more after the final boss, so here's hoping the other installments in the series get the home console treatment.  Or even better, a new entry that is native to consoles so it can be a much longer game.